Althea Chang is a former Hyphen magazine contributing editor and current Brooklyn, New York-based blogger, food fanatic and personal finance writer who's written for CNN, Forbes, Fortune, TheStreet and other online publications.

Dozens of New York City restaurants and vendors joined food lovers and volunteers last Friday for a night of pork belly and sake-filled decadence.

But it wasn’t all about filling our own bellies.  It was volunteer-run Project by Project’s annual Plate by Plate fundraiser event, this year to benefit the Hamilton Madison House, a group that provides social services including childhood education, mental health services, senior services and English and computer lessons particularly to residents of Manhattan’s Chinatown and Lower East Side.

Vivian Lee from local news channel NY1, and MSNBC anchor Richard Lui were preparing to emcee early on, while top organizers were expectedly buzzing around busily and 16 restaurants, six sweet treat vendors and 21 beverage companies prepared to serve their goodies.

Minya Oh, better known as Miss Info from hip-hop station Hot 97, poured wine for attendees.  Meanwhile, hungry food lovers swarmed around tables stocked with attractive bites, bowls and spoons full of Asian and Asian-inspired and other delicious cuisine.

Sweet, earthy and spicy pork belly sliders and an excellent flounder ceviche was served by Yerba Buena, some of the best barbecue in town from came from Blue Smoke, and a Queens Filipino restaurant, Payag, carved up a lovely roast pig - which was so good that by the end of the night, its cheeks went missing.

Archie Kao, also known as “the Asian guy on CSI” was camera-ready, posing for pictures with fans.  Top Chef winner Chef Hung Huynh faced off with Chef Chris Jaeckle of Al Fiori for a cooking challenge and Sandra Endo, a longtime Plate by Plate volunteer and Washington DC-based CNN reporter formerly with NY1, was also in attendance.

Meanwhile, 91 items were up for silent auction for bidders with a variety of tastes, including bartending classes, original paintings and even a couture clutch worth an estimated $3,000, notes Project by Project spokeswoman Stacy Zhao.

In all, Project by Project had about 90 volunteers for this year’s New York Plate by Plate event, according to events director, Chi Nguyen.  And while last year’s event raised about $43,000, “we cannot disclose this yet as we are still finalizing our numbers but I can say it was more than last year due to the inflow of more corporate sponsorships,” says Nguyen.

Event proceeds will aid in the expansion of Hamilton Madison House, which says it spends 91% of the funds it receives on programs for the community, including day care, a teen music program, English lessons, activities for seniors and mental health services including help for alcoholism and gambling addiction, says Illyse Kaplan, Director of Development at the Hamilton Madison House.